DOCUMENTARY PAPER

Photograph by Sebastiao Salgado

Documentary photography captures real moments including events, people, and places. These moments can range from historical to political events. Typically, documentary photography focuses on an ongoing issue and demonstrates the significance of that issue through a series of photographs. This type of photography can also focus on moments that are not regarded as issues.

The earliest demonstration of documentary photography is the disassembly of the Crystal Palace which was recorded in 1852 by Philip Delamotte. The intention of producing documentary photography is to simply capture a series of moments or photographs that display significance. The American civil war, WWI, WWII, the Great Depression, and the Vietnam War were all important documentary projects. 

The Farm Security Administration was created by President Roosevelt. The purpose behind the FSA was to help farmers, shop croppers, and migrant workers. In other words, this particular agency was used to improve living conditions during the Great Depression. The “Historic Unit” of the FSA was created to document poverty as well as living conditions with photographs. Basically, it was a photographic unit of documentation. Documerica was created by the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) in order to photographically document environmental issues as well as everyday life.

Lewis Hine was an American photographer as well as a sociologist. He worked as a freelance photographer for the National Child Labor Comittee. Specifically, he photographed children working in harsh conditions which then motivated the government to create laws against child labor. 

I believe documentary photography is used to spread awareness as well as knowledge about certain situations or issues. That’s what Hine did regarding child labor. He spread awareness and knowledge about children working in terrible conditions by photographing them. These images were then viewed by the government and other people as well. If Hine did not document these children, then perhaps the laws prohibiting child labor would have never been created. Documentary photography appears within specific photography galleries, archives as well as the media.

An important documentary photographer for the 1920s would be August Sander. He was originally born in Germany therefore he became a German photographer. One of his most known documentaries is titled “People of The Twentieth Century”. An important documentary photographer for the 1930s would be Walker Evans. One of his most known documentaries was focused on the Great Depression. An important documentary photographer for the 1940s would be Paul Martin. His work mostly focused on his interest in human beings and their aesthetics. An important documentary photographer for the 1950s would be Gary Winnogrand. His work mostly focused on capturing the visuals of everyday life. An important documentary photographer for the 1960s would be Diane Arbus. Her work mostly focused on portraits and capturing the raw details within people. An important documentary photographer for the 1970s would be Lee Friedlander. His work mostly focused on American society as well as everyday life and the power of media. An important documentary photographer for the 1980s would be Sherri Levine. Her work mostly focused on photographic reproductions such as the Depression Era that was originally photographed by Walker Evans. An important documentary photographer for the 1990s would be John Ranard. His best work was focused on photographing Russian Prisons. An important documentary photographer for the 21st century would be Sebastia Salgado. His work mostly focused on documenting migrant workers as well as immigration.

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